Alien organisms are now the number one problem in conservation of our natural areas.

No conservation effort is possible today without understanding the threat of alien
organisms. The study of alien plants and ants is a critical component of my ecological
work on ant communities.

The ecology of North American ants:

The ant fauna of North America offers limitless research opportunities.
In particular I am interested in ant communities in disturbed natural
areas. Such research is essential for the promotion and conservation of
ants in urban/suburban habitats.

Ecological modeling

Computer modeling is critical for a thorough analysis of observational data
in ecology. Specifically I am working on modeling the outcome of changes in
abiotic and biotic factors on ant and plant communities. More
importantly, I am modeling the sampling methods used to detect these changes in the
field. This is a critical step in determining if detection of predicted
effects is possible and minimizing type I and II errors.

Invited to speak on the effects of imperfect sampling regimes
and species patchiness on species estimators at the International
Union for the Study of Social Insects 2006 Congress, Washington,
D.C. July 31st -- August 4th.

Participated as the Myrmecologist in the Potomac Gorge Bioblitz
organized by The Nature Conservancy and the National Park Service. July.

Featured in the documentary movie "On the Edge: The Potomac
River Dyke Marsh" World premier at the Kennedy Center, Washington,
D.C. Mar 21st

2005

"A new frontier for a very old science: Modern bioinformatics
and database organization in taxonomy" guest lecturer for the
Howard Hughes Summer Scholars bioinformatics course at Georgetown
University, Washington, D.C.

Invited as a guest panelist to the National Academy of Sciences
Vietnam Education Foundation Fellows Conference.

SELECTED PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS

"Impacts of randomized sample site selection on ant survey data and
richness estimators" invited symposia speaker, International Union for
the Study of Social Insects Congress, Washington, D.C., August 2006

"Studies on the ants, alien and native plants, and ant sampling methods
in a U.S. National Park." presentation and defense of Ph.D.
dissertation, Georgetown University, Washington D.C., 1 December 2005

"Alien plants in an eastern riparian forest: is there an impact on ants
and native plants?" presentation to the Washington Biologists' Field
Club, Smithsonian National Zoological Park, Washington, D.C., 22 April 2005

"The Ants of Dyke Marsh Preserve: Are Alien Plants Changing the Native
Ant Community?" Presentation to the Entomological Society of Washington,
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., 3
March 2005

"Using Coldfusion, Discoverlife.org, and the internet to monitor and
identify species: Demonstrations of a literature database, a sampling
event database, online matrix keys, and real-time mapping of species
information online." Presentation to National Park Service employees
from the Rock Creek Park and the Center for Urban Ecology, Rock Creek
Park, Washington, DC, 11 February 2005

"Alien Invasion In The U.S. Capital: Arthropod and Plant Community
Changes Associated With Introduced Plant Species." poster presented at
the 7th International Conference on the Ecology and Management of Alien
Plant Invasions, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, 3-7 November 2003

Kjar, D. S. and T. R. Suman. A first record of the Japanese Ant
/Vollenhovia emeryi/ (Formicidae: Myrmicinae) in Virginia, and
previously unpublished records of this ant in three Eastern U.S. States.
The Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 109: 596 - 604